potential \u201csuper\u201d El Ni\u00f1o that could develop later this year<\/a>, meaning an unusually strong warming of the Pacific that could amplify weather extremes. Such an event could have devastating consequences for ecosystems in the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands.<\/p>\nIn a post on X made on Friday morning, WFLA-TV chief meteorologist Jeff Berardelli noted that a past strong El Ni\u00f1o event wiped out 77 percent of the islands’ penguins. In addition, the climate pattern destroyed 97 percent of shallow water coral. <\/p>\n
“With a Strong El Ni\u00f1o imminent, concern grows for life on the Galapagos,” Berardelli wrote in the post. “El Ni\u00f1o is a natural cyclical phenomenon but it can be devastating to the #Gal\u00e1pagos Islands. In the 1982-83 event 77% of the penguin population did not survive. 97% of the shallow water coral perished. That\u2019s because cold water upwelling and nutrients are shutdown, as warm water invades the eastern Equatorial islands.”<\/p>\n
There are only around 2,000 Gal\u00e1pagos penguins left. <\/p>\n
While forecasts remain uncertain, experts say even the possibility of a strong event is enough to raise alarm, given how sensitive Gal\u00e1pagos wildlife is to changes in ocean temperature and food supply. Gal\u00e1pagos penguins, one of the rarest penguin species in the world, are particularly vulnerable because they rely on cold, nutrient-rich waters to survive. When those conditions change, their entire food chain can collapse as the fish they feed on migrate away to cooler waters, a 2023 report by the Gal\u00e1pagos Conservation Trust (GCT) said.<\/p>\n
Marine iguanas also face a higher chance of death during strong El Ni\u00f1o years, with 70 percent of the population dying during the 1982-83 El Ni\u00f1o event because of a decline in algae, their main food source. <\/p>\n
Other species on the Gal\u00e1pagos, however, could thrive from the conditions. For example, increased rainfall allows more food for the land iguana, GCT’s report said. Darwin’s finches have more success with breeding because of increased food availability.<\/p>\n
However, invasive species like goats and rats also thrive for the same reasons, “which puts increased pressure on the endemic species on the Islands,” the report added.<\/p>\n
![\"Underwater](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2068288129.jpg\"\/)
The Seesaw of Survival: How the Pacific Flips<\/p>\n
El Ni\u00f1o is one half of the El Ni\u00f1o\u2013Southern Oscillation cycle, with La Ni\u00f1a representing the opposite phase. While El Ni\u00f1o brings warmer ocean waters and weaker trade winds, La Ni\u00f1a is characterized by cooler waters and stronger winds.<\/p>\n
These differences have major consequences for wildlife in the Gal\u00e1pagos. El Ni\u00f1o conditions reduce nutrient availability and disrupt food chains for marine species, while La Ni\u00f1a tends to enhance upwelling, increasing marine productivity and improving breeding conditions for species like penguins.<\/p>\n
In practical terms, El Ni\u00f1o often leads to food scarcity and population decline for marine species, whereas La Ni\u00f1a can provide a temporary boost in survival and reproduction.<\/p>\n
The contrast highlights why a strong El Ni\u00f1o is considered such a serious threat: it effectively reverses the ecological conditions that the islands\u2019 species depend on. While forecasts remain uncertain, experts say even the possibility of a strong event is enough to raise alarm, given how sensitive Gal\u00e1pagos wildlife is to changes in ocean temperature and food supply. <\/p>\n
What Happens Next: When Super El Ni\u00f1o Impacts Will Begin<\/p>\n
Some impacts associated with a strong El Ni\u00f1o, such as increased rainfall in the Rocky Mountains and Southwest, as well as above-average temperatures in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, could begin as soon as June, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines told Newsweek. Other impacts, such as increased thunderstorms and rain for the Southeast, will occur closer to the winter months.<\/p>\n
However, for the Gal\u00e1pagos ecosystem, the stakes are far more immediate. Scientists warn that even a single severe El Ni\u00f1o could push already fragile penguin populations toward collapse, underscoring the growing concern reflected in recent forecasts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fears are mounting that most of the Gal\u00e1pagos penguin population could die this year as forecasts point to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":647476,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[58629,2027,192,11315,79],"class_list":["post-647475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-el-nino","tag-endangered-species","tag-environment","tag-forecast","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=647475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/647476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=647475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=647475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=647475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}